updated 06:58 am EST, Thu February 21, 2013

Report claims touch-enabled Chromebook going on sale by year's end

Google could be releasing a touchscreen version of its Chromebook before the end of the year, according to rumors. The report from the Wall Street Journalclaims that the search giant is working with an unnamed hardware manufacturer to build the notebooks, which if true would directly compete with existing Chromebook offerings from Samsung and Acer.

Sources close to the matter say that as many as 100,000 Chromebooks were sold in the United States in the fourth quarter of 2012, which is said to be an improvement on previous sales figures. It is mentioned that Google needs to attract developers to the platform, in order to create applications that will take advantage of the touchscreen capabilities, and in turn drive sales.

The final form of the Chromebook could be similar to the Chromebook Pixel, leaked online earlier this month in a heavily-produced trailer which could potentially be a hoax from a production agency. The Pixel would in theory have a multitouch display with a 2560x1700 resolution built into a slim-profile device.